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List Price: $59.98Amazon.com's Price: $48.99 You Save: $10.99 (18%)Prices subject to change.
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Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOME ENTERTAIN.
EAN: 0025192948725
Format: Box set, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC
Label: Universal Studios
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
Number Of Items: 5
Publisher: Universal Studios
Region Code: 1
Release Date: May 23, 2006
Running Time: 571 minutes
Sales Rank: 6436
Studio: Universal Studios
Theatrical Release Date: May 05, 1939
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
This collection of classic Hollywood features directed by Cecil B. Demille includes the following five films: SIGN OF THE CROSS FOUR FRIGHTENED PEOPLE CLEOPATRA THE CRUSADES and UNION PACIFIC. Each film proves that Cecil B. De Mille was the ultimate when it came to creating epic and grandiose versions of history using a signature blend of period realism and sumptuous art direction.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 025192948725 Manufacturer No: 29487
Amazon.com:
One of Hollywood's greatest showmen gets a worthy showcase in The Cecil B. De Mille Collection, consisting of five of the legendary producer-director's most characteristic films. As noted by David Thomson in his influential book A Biographical Dictionary of Film, 'De Mille's movies are barnstormers, rooted in Victorian theatre, shamelessly stereotyped and sentimental, but eagerly courting 20th-century permissiveness, if only solemnly to condemn it.' That's an apt description of the films included in this nicely packaged box set, which offers no extras beyond the films themselves. Thomson is equally accurate in calling De Mille's films 'simple, raw, pious, and jingoistic,' but as these five well-preserved films make abundantly clear, De Mille was always a consummate entertainer. One of Hollywood's foremost pioneers, De Mille cut an iconic figure, single-handedly defining the archetypal image of the dictatorial director, complete with boots, jodhpurs and an ever-present riding crop to enforce his domineering authority. After failed attempts to work independently and, later, for MGM, De Mille found a permanent home at Paramount in 1932, and it's there that he made these five films (now owned by Universal as part of their pre-1948 Paramount library), which represent the glorious clash of Christian virtues, epic-scale production values, lurid sexuality, and self-important grandiosity that make De Mille's films so curiously (and in many cases hypocritically) enthralling.
The Sign of the Cross (1932) is quintessential De Mille, now famous for its pre-Code (i.e. pre-censorship) scene of peep-show nudity as Claudette Colbert (playing Poppaea, wife of Charles Laughton's Roman emperor Nero) takes a tantalizing bath in goat's milk, daring DVD viewers to freeze-frame 'the naughty bits' while Roman prefect Marcus (Frederic March) struggles to reconcile his loyalty to Rome with his forbidden love for the Christian maiden Mercia (Elissa Landi), who's destined for the lion's den. Full of outrageous spectacle (including dwarves in the Roman arena), this blood-and-guts epic is pure De Mille compared to the more conventionally formulaic adventure of Four Frightened People (1934), also starring Colbert as one of the four titular characters shipwrecked on a remote Malay island (filmed at Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa, in Hawaii) and forced to fend for themselves. It's a stodgy but frequently amusing adventure, with Colbert's uptight schoolmarm growing sexier and less inhibited with each passing scene. Colbert returns (De Mille obviously adored her) in the title role of Cleopatra (1934), easily seducing Marc Antony (played by De Mille favorite Henry Wilcoxon) in a film as lavishly appointed as it is melodramatically extreme. Wilcoxon pairs with Loretta Young in The Crusades (1935) with De Mille once again mixing piety with prurience in a religious epic that promises plenty of sex but, in classic De Mille fashion, remains steadfastly chaste. Union Pacific (from Hollywood's golden year of 1939) is a grandly entertaining Western that mangles history (specifically, events surrounding construction of the transcontinental railroad) while casting gunslingers Joel McCrea and Robert Preston in a contest for Barbara Stanwyck's affections.
Choosing a favorite among these five films is purely a matter of personal taste, but for all of his weaknesses as a director (not the least being a condescending and self-righteous arrogance toward his audience), De Mille was never, ever boring. These films helped to make Paramount the most profitable studio of the 1930s, and they hold up remarkably well. Despite the complete absence of bonus features (Universal once again taking the low-cost option with no-frills packaging), each film is presented in pristine or near-pristine condition, ripe for first-time viewing or nostalgic rediscovery by vintage film buffs everywhere.--Jeff Shannon
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating:  - The Cecil B. DeMille Collection
He is the King of Epic Classic Movies. Claudette Colbert, Loretta Young & Barbara Stanwyck shine in this Collection. It is a must see. Enjoy
Rating:  - All I want is Cleopatra!
My shopping cart contains the Elizabeth Taylor version of Cleopatra, priced at $14.99. I wanted to add the Claudette Colbert version at a similar price. Unfortunately, the only DVD available is this damned ridiculously overpriced collection which would force me to buy four movies I don't want to get the one that I do. Well, I ain't gonna do it! Ever!
Rating:  - Cleopatra is Masterpiece - others in collection have not aged well
Mainly bought this collection because of Cleopatra - which is a 5 star masterpiece - and deserves a review on its own - the other movies all share the common issues related to their release date:
1. They are black&white + not wide format
2. There is so much dialogue and not enough action
3. All filming is done in studios & you can tell
All in all - if you love Cleopatra and want to check out more movies from that era - this is a good choice
Rating:  - Decent Boxed Set
These movies are good,but they don`t really represent the best of DeMilles work.Films like The Ten Commandments (1923)and the remake in 1956,The King of Kings (1928)Samson and Delilah(1949)and The greatest Show on Earth(1950)are Demilles best in my opinion.Still these movies contain the elements that make his movies fun to watch;such as lavish costumes,action,battle scenes and plenty of drama.I would recommend this set to any Demille fan.
Rating: - Epics on an Epic Scale
The movie that made me want to buy this collection was "Cleopatra" with Claudette Colbert as a kind of "flapper queen of Egypt" which to me has always been a great hoot. While these are not the sorts of movies I would use to illustrate a particular historical epoch due to their accuracy, I would show them if I wanted to entertain someone. The Crusades is a good example with its characterization of a fictional king "Michael of Russia" when Russia as a state did not even exist.
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